A family-owned daily newspaper serving Riverton, Lander and Fremont County, Wyoming since 1949

William M. Shipp

Dec 9, 2012 - Staff

William M. Shipp of Lander died Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012, at Wind River Health Care in Riverton. He was 92 years old.

Cremation has taken place. Services will be held later.

William M. Shipp was born Dec. 18, 1920, in Longmont, Colo., the son of Edward Ralston Shipp and Myrtle Inez (Smith) Shipp.

He moved with his family to Lander in 1930 and graduated from Fremont County Vocational High School in 1939. Less than a month later he married Twilene L. "Teena" Fleak of Riverton. They remained loving, devoted companions until her death in 1992.

He entered military service in 1944 and was on board a ship headed to Japan when the war ended. He was rerouted to the Philippine Islands where he served out his tour of duty.

Following his discharge he returned to Lander and began working in the Ben Franklin chain of retail stores.

In 1958 he purchased his own Ben Franklin store in Lander and operated it for seven years. In 1965 he sold the store and bought the Cedar Lodge Motel in Jackson. He sold that motel in 1972 and enjoyed a short retirement living in Arizona. In 1977, he purchased a motel in Salmon, Idaho, which he owned and operated until he retired for good in 1994.

His family said he enjoyed outdoor recreational activities and spent many winters fishing and boating in the southern United States and Mexico. He returned to Lander in 2004 and lived at Mountain Vista Retirement Residence until he was placed in the nursing home earlier this year.

He is survived by two sons, Edward of Buffalo, and James and his wife Vicky of Huntington, Ore.; two grandsons; and three great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a half-brother, Tommy Tompkins; and his wife of 53 years, Twilene.